Christ in Matthew’s Gospel

~ Jesus Christ Is The Messiah, The King of the Jews, The Son of David, The Savior ~

The Bible is about Jesus Christ  ~  “Jesus said to them, ‘How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!  Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter His glory?’  And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself” (Luke 24:25-27).

Christ in the Gospel of Matthew  ~  Repeatedly we find Matthew plainly pointing out to his primary readers (Jewish people of his day) that Jesus Christ is their Messiah.  He does this by quoting key verses from their Scriptures that were fulfilled by Jesus Christ.  The following examples are from just the first two chapters of Matthew. 

“So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:  ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:22-23).

“So they said to him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:  “But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel”’” (Matthew 2:5-6).

“When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, ‘Out of Egypt I called My Son’” (Matthew 2:14-15).

“Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:  ‘A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they are no more’” (Matthew 2:17-18).

“And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, ‘He shall be called a Nazarene’” (Matthew 2:23).

The Messiah’s Own Words  ~  “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.  I did not come to destroy but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17). 

Comments  ~  1. The fulfillment of prophecies about which Matthew writes were about the life of Jesus Christ.  The references were not always about Jesus Himself but the events surrounding His time on earth (sometimes the prophecies were fulfilled by His friends or His enemies).  2. While on earth Jesus Christ often quoted Scriptures in reference to Himself.  3. The Apostle Paul told us the Scriptures present many shadows of things to come but the reality is found in Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:17). 

Summary of Christ in Matthew’s Historical Account  ~  Matthew presents the Jewish Messiah—the King of the Jews.  Matthew is written to the Hebrew mind and the emphasis is on what He thought and what He said revealing the sovereignty of The Messiah.  Matthew is about His Kingdom and the way of righteousness.  Appropriately, Matthew ends with The Messiah’s resurrection—the crowning proof of His Messiahship.

Compare the Following Passages: 

Matthew 1:23 with Isaiah 7:14 (above)

Matthew 2:6 with Micah 5:2 (above)

Matthew 2:15 with Hosea 11:1 (above)

Matthew 2:18 with Jeremiah 38:15 (above)

Matthew 3:3 with Isaiah 40:3-5

Matthew 4:4 with Deuteronomy 8:3

Matthew 4:6 with Psalms 90:11-12

Matthew 4:7 with Deuteronomy 6:16

Matthew 4:10 with Deuteronomy 6:13, 10:20

Matthew 4:15-16 with Isaiah 9:1-2

Matthew 8:17 with Isaiah 53:4

Matthew 9:13 with Hosea 6:7

Matthew 10:35-36 with Micah 7:6

Matthew 11:10 with Malachi 3:1 

Matthew 12:18-21 with Isaiah 42:1-4

Matthew 13:14-15 with Isaiah 6:9-10

Matthew 13:35 with Psalms 77:2

Matthew 15:4 with Exodus 20:12 and Deuteronomy 5:16, 21:16  

Matthew 15:8-9 with Isaiah 29:13

Matthew 18:16 with Deuteronomy 19:15

Matthew 19:5 with Genesis 2:24

Matthew 21:5 with Zechariah 9:9

Matthew 21:9 with Psalm 117:26

Matthew 21:13 with Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11

Matthew 21:16 with Psalm 8:2

Matthew 21:42 with Psalm 117:22-23 

Matthew 22:24 with Deuteronomy 25:5 

Matthew 22:32 with Exodus 3:6

Matthew 22:37 with Deuteronomy 6:5, 10-12, and 30:6  

Matthew 22:39 with Leviticus 19:18

Matthew 22:44 with Psalm 109:1

Matthew 26:31 with Zechariah 13:7

Matthew 27:9 with Zechariah 11:12

Matthew 27:35 with Psalm 21:18

Matthew 27:46 with Psalm 21:1

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

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